Exercise Training Does Improve Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Post-Bariatric Surgery Patients

Effect of exercise training before and after bariatric surgery: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…In line with previous reviews, 7,12 reported a significant increase in VO 2 max above the average improvement observed in our meta-analysis (+3.4 mL/kg/min) after a 5-month program based on aerobic training and HIIT. 57 The number of participants was however very limited (six to 10 participants in the intervention groups), and in one study, 40 participants were aged <50 years with a BMI < 35 kg/m 2 and therefore may not be representative of the patients undergoing bariatric surgery.…”

“…This highlights the importance of limiting inclusion criteria to whole‐body exercise training based on aerobic or resistance training, or both, when assessing the effect of exercise on weight loss. An increase in cardiorespiratory fitness 7 , 12 and in muscle strength 13 has also been reported after a postoperative exercise training program, although the effect on muscle strength has not been assessed with a meta‐analysis. Similarly, the effects of exercise on important outcomes such as bone loss, quality of life, habitual physical activity, cardiometabolic outcomes, or weight loss maintenance after surgery have not been quantitatively synthetized in previous reviews.…”

“…Similarly, the effects of exercise on important outcomes such as bone loss, quality of life, habitual physical activity, cardiometabolic outcomes, or weight loss maintenance after surgery have not been quantitatively synthetized in previous reviews. 7 , 8 , 9 , 12 , 13 Finally, although there is only a limited number of studies assessing preoperative interventions, recent data on their effects have not been synthetized since 2015. 14 Therefore, an updated systematic overview and meta‐analysis of this topic are relevant and needed.…”

Towards Optimized Care After Bariatric Surgery by Physical Activity and Exercise Intervention: a Review

“…Growing evidence supports the benefits of structured/supervised exercise intervention in physical activity-related enjoyment, self-efficacy, motivation, functional muscle strength, walking capacity, VO2peak, insulin sensitivity, body weight, skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration capacity, and preservation of bone mineral density, in post-bariatric patients, as opposed to usual-care follow-up [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

“…However, a close inspection of these guidelines reveals that the role/importance of physical activity or exercise intervention in the post-bariatric follow-up trajectory is mentioned to a limited extent [11]. However, an increase in physical activity or the implementation of an exercise intervention seems a viable add-on therapy in patients who underwent bariatric surgery [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Moreover, a significant proportion of patients do not achieve an increase in physical activity after bariatric surgery [21,22].…”